Blue Thunder falls in playoffs

The AYSO Region 120 Costa Mesa girls under-10 Blue Thunder tied one

game and lost the next two in the regional playoffs Dec. 11-12 at

University Park Elementary School in Irvine.

The Blue Thunder finished their season 13-2-3, after having

compiled a 13-0-0 regular-season record.

The Thunder tied South Irvine, 0-0, in their first game of pool

play in the playoffs Dec. 11.

The Thunder lost to Corona del Mar, 1-0, in the afternoon game

Dec. 11 and Newport Harbor bested the Thunder, 2-0, Dec. 12 to end

Costa Mesa’s season.

“It was a fantastic season -- very rewarding,” Costa Mesa Coach

Walter Tuer said. “The girls overachieved, never gave up and played

with all their heart.”

Saturday’s loss was the first the Thunder had suffered all season,

and some of the players weren’t quite used to that feeling.

“It was a tear-jerking event for some of them when we lost our

first game,” Tuer said.

Leading goal scorer Cynthia Eggers injured herself in the early

stages against South Irvine and didn’t return the rest of the

playoffs, leaving the Thunder shorthanded.

Brianna Check was another primary offensive weapon throughout the

season for Costa Mesa.

The Blue Thunder is led by Eggers, Check, Caitlin Roche, Joanna

Saavedra and Cristina Tuer.

Celtics stay perfect

* BASKETBALL: The Eastbluff Club League’s fourth-grade Celtics

remained undefeated by holding off a late fourth-quarter charge by

the Mavericks recently.

Jeff Saroyan made a key basket for the Celtics to clinch the 24-22

victory.

The Celtics’ offense was led by Jefferey Meyers and Blake Motal,

while the defense was led by James Christian and Dakota Armstrong.

* Cousens Team 31, Rockets 22

The Eastbluff Club League’s Cousens Team defeated the Rockets,

31-22, due in large part to the outside shooting of Reid Meckler and

Kyle Cousens.

The Rockets were led by Carter Keddington, Amanda Girvin, Colby

Watson and Westin Wright.

* Knicks 35, Pacers 23

The Eastbluff Club League’s Knicks defeated the Pacers, 35-23,

recently. Ryan Griffin led the Knicks with 18 points, while Charlie

Griffin had eight and Nico Coppola had six.

The Knicks received strong defensive play from Jake Wyatt and Jake

Wyatt.

The Pacers were led by Bo St. Geme and Tyler McPhillips.

TeWinkle evens record

* BASKETBALL: The TeWinkle Middle School seventh-grade boys

basketball team improved to 1-1 with a 19-14 win over Costa Mesa

Tuesday.

The team is led by Jesus Antonio, Martin Barragan, Ryan Boselo,

Josh Dominguez, Damon Hogan Kohl Jones, Joshua Gray, Chase Harrison,

Mike Markovsky, David Perez, Luis Reyes, Tyler Sullivan, Kevin

Thompson and Sy Young.

Avalanche advances

* SOCCER: The AYSO Region 97 boys under-10 Avalanche advanced to

the semifinals of the playoffs by winning two games and tying another

in the four-team playoff pool.

Nic Sargeant scored six goals throughout the playoffs, while Gage

Coffelt had one. Riley Ricker, Joey Gregory, Scott Grew and Sam Jones

led the offense, while Rory Fleming, Gordon Lewis, Parker Martinez,

Kevin Rakestraw and Chris Buchanan led the defense.

Mesa tops TeWinkle

* BASKETBALL: The TeWinkle Middle School eighth-grade boys

basketball team lost to Costa Mesa, 42-30, early this week.

Dokat Lambert and Troy McClanahan each had six points to lead

TeWinkle, while Jorge Olivas had two points and seven rebounds.